Senior assassin games thrive as Wake ritual: risky business or harmless fun?
For at least the last 50 years, high school seniors giddy with graduation fever have joined in a springtime ritual that has them hiding behind bushes, ducking around corners and zapping each other with a surprise blast of water.
The game takes many names, but most often gets played as Senior Assassin, in which each 12th-grader gets assigned a target to “eliminate” with a water gun attack — never an official school activity, and never during school hours.
Still, the annual competition for prize money comes with some backlash from parents and school neighbors, who worry about both trespassing and guns that are too realistic, and the Nextdoor and Facebook pages around Raleigh fill with both warnings and complaints.
Last year, the sheriff in Union County issued a warning about the game’s risky behavior after deputies responded to a call of students in all-black waiting outside a classmate’s house at night, waiting for an ambush.
This week, Leesville Road High School Principal Shejuanna Jacobs sent parents a heads-up:
“We want to remind everyone to keep it fun, lighthearted and safe,” she wrote. “This activity should not interfere with the school day, distract from learning, or impact how students move safely and appropriately throughout the building. Students have been advised not to participate on private property, including homes and apartments, or in places such as stores, malls, or other shopping centers. Please also avoid any unsafe behaviors, such as jumping in or out of vehicles, sneaking into homes, or any other actions that could put you or others at risk.”
This tradition thrives in Wake County with the class of 2026, where schools such as Garner Magnet High School play under well-organized, heavily documented rules: no targeting on-campus between 7:15 a.m. and 2:15 p.m., no trespassing and absolutely no assassinations at prom.
Fun times and memories
To many students, no harm comes from battling with orange and green squirt guns once the last school bell has rung.
At Garner Magnet High School, assassin play is highly structured: students pay a $5 entry fee, download the Splashin app and play under a detailed set of rules that require a picture to document each elimination.
They scheme and strategize.
Garner senior Lucas Pruden hid behind his car for 15 minutes after baseball practice to catch his target coming to his car after track, zapping his target coming through the parking lot gate.
“A lot of it is just timing and patience,” he said, “figuring out people’s schedules and catching them off guard. I use an electric water gun. It is not necessary, but it makes it more fun and gives a bit more range.”
Likewise, his classmate Hayden Greene conspired with his target’s friend to catch him on the way home from school, crouching behind his car and waiting for him to arrive home.
“I think Senior Assassin is a fun way for seniors to enjoy their last days before going to college, where things get more serious,” Greene said. “I also think the rules are safe and help make sure the game is played at the right times and places. ... My favorite water gun is a battery-powered one from Amazon because it shoots fast and far without having to keep pulling the trigger.”
In the early rounds, Garner kids could wear goggles or arm floaties as protection. But as the game progresses, they call a “purge” to scale back this defense.
“I know there has been some concern from parents,” added Pruden, Greene’s classmate, “but safety really is not an issue because the rules are strict.”
Rules gone wrong
But rules are notoriously broken and risks taken with grim consequences.
Students across Wake County report wide variations in tolerance between schools, noting that Enloe High’s assassin game got shut down last year after reports of students taking extremes.
A suburban Chicago school went on lockdown earlier in April after reports of a man with a gun outside an elementary school, leading to disorderly conduct charges for an 18-year-old.
“People should not make the assumption just because it’s a different color that police or bystanders for that matter would think, ‘OK, that’s just a toy,’” a police chief there told 5 Chicago. “Because other than the color it looked exactly like an M4 rifle.”
A North Texas teen playing the game injured himself badly enough to be on life support last year after climbing on the back of a moving Jeep while it pulled out of a driveway and then falling off onto his head. He died a month later, CBS News reported.
Raleigh police did not respond to questions about guidelines or potential problems here.
Looking ‘sus’
When a Garner parent posted a public service announcement recently, explaining the game and its rules, reactions varied widely.
“Kids lurking in bushes outside peoples homes and acting sus,” wrote one responder. “I’m sure nothing bad has ever happened from that.”
“The problem is,” said another, “that we, John Q Public, won’t know the difference looking at you the high schoolers trying to prank each other, and a random juvenile delinquent trying to do something very sus. I see any of you like that and I am calling the authorities .... maybe you can wear a neon colored sash that says HIGH SCHOOL PRANK IN SESSION!!“
But a good many more remembered their distant and fleeting youth, and they made a different sort of pledge if they spot any assassins:
Join the fun.
This story was originally published April 15, 2026 at 12:36 PM with the headline "Senior assassin games thrive as Wake ritual: risky business or harmless fun?."